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Industry Updates

This broad category includes articles concerning health insurance costs, carrier and health plan news, changing benefits technology, and surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation and others on employee benefits.

Word & Brown Participates in California Chamber of Commerce AB 1400 Opposition Effort

The California Chamber of Commerce and the below listed organizations are OPPOSED to AB 1400 (Kalra, Lee, and Santiago) as amended on January 24, 2022, and ACA 11 (Kalra and Lee) as introduced on January 5, 2022, as JOB KILLERS, as the bills would create a new and exorbitantly expensive government bureaucracy, which would control and finance a state-run health care system (CalCare), ultimately resulting in significant job loss to California.

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UnitedHealthcare, Kaiser Appeal ACA Risk-Corridor Settlement Deal

A group of insurers led by UnitedHealthcare and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan subsidiaries asked a federal judge to slash the $184 million in lawyers fees owed after winning health plans $3.7 billion from two class-actions related to a now-expired Affordable Care Act program. More than 30 insurers wrote to the U.S. Court of Appeals for ...

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Five Important Changes For Group Health Clients In 2022

The new year brings with it changes for employers, employees, and group health insurance. Here’s information you may want to share with your clients. 2022 Health Insurance Changes 1: Increased FSA Contribution Limits The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) previously published the increased limits for contributions to Health Flexible Spending Accounts (Health FSAs) in 2022. The ...

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Universal Health Care Bill Advances in California Assembly

California Democrats on Tuesday took their first step toward abolishing the private health insurance market in the nation’s most populous state and replacing it with a government-run plan that they promised would never deny anyone the care they need.

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Here’s What’s Changed As California’s New COVID Workplace Rules Go Into Effect

Now that COVID-19 case rates in California have jumped to their highest levels yet — more than six times the peak of the delta variant wave — updated workplace rules are kicking in to better help protect workers vaccinated against COVID-19.

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California Sues ‘Sharing Ministry’ Health Insurance Plan

California on Wednesday sued what the state's attorney general called a sham health insurance company operating as a “health care sharing ministry” — one the state claims illegally denied members benefits while retaining as much as 84% of their payments.

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California’s EDD Freezes 345,000 Disability Claims To Battle Fraud

EDD has frozen 345,000 claims for disability insurance because of "suspected organized criminal elements filing false (disability insurance) claims using stolen credentials of individuals and medical or health providers," it said in a statement Thursday.

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Democrats Propose California Universal Healthcare, Funded By New Income, Business Taxes

California would enact a sweeping, first-in-the-nation universal healthcare plan under a proposal unveiled Thursday by a group of state Democratic lawmakers, providing health services to every resident and financed by a broad array of new taxes on individuals and businesses.

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Newsom To Call For New COVID Paid Sick Leave For Californians After Law Expired

Gov. Gavin Newsom is set to call for new legislation to revive supplemental paid sick leave policies as part of a $2.7 billion coronavirus response package. Newsom’s administration previewed the package over the weekend, saying the governor will call for supplemental paid COVID-19 sick leave, “given the current situation being driven by the Omicron variant to better ...

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Newsom Proposes $2.7 Billion To Expand COVID-19 Response Efforts

California would spend $2.7 billion on new efforts to respond to the surge in COVID-19 cases, including additional testing capacity and assistance to hospitals, under a budget proposal Gov. Gavin Newsom will send to state lawmakers next week. Newsom will also ask legislators to help craft new COVID sick pay rules for Californians, modeled after ...

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